The present invention relates to an improved coin receiving mechanism for a bulk vending machine and a method of operating the mechanism, and more particularly to a bulk vending machine having an improved coin mechanism having a pawl that provides for rejecting counterfeit disks or coins from the mechanism.
Bulk vending machines occupy a special and important position not just because of the sales generated therefrom but because of the unique niche that these machines possess in the minds of the public. The bulk vending machine has endured and thrived as a fixture of the retail environment. At least one bulk vending machine and more likely several, can be found in the entrance way or lobby of nearly every supermarket, department store, hardware store, gas station and restaurant in the United States. The proceeds of the bulk vending machine may augment the income of the proprietor of the premises where it is located or the proceeds may be shared with or donated to charitable organizations.
The bulk vending machine is intended to operate unattended and without normal supervision or attention by a person of the staff of the establishment where it is located. It is, therefore, important that the bulk vending machine be highly reliable, durable, and resistant to vandalism or pilferage.
One part of the bulk vending machine that is susceptible to vandalism or pilferage is the coin receiving mechanism. The coin receiving mechanism fits into an opening in a housing portion of the bulk vending machine and serves to operate a merchandise dispensing mechanism of the bulk vending machine upon receipt of the proper coin or coins. The coin receiving mechanism typically includes a handle to be manually rotated, a face plate, and a rearward facing gear that engages a corresponding gear of the merchandise dispensing mechanism. The coin wheel includes a coin receiving slot sized and adapted to receive a coin of the proper denomination.
The coin receiving mechanism of a bulk vending machine typically incorporates features that distinguish between a coin of the proper denomination and coins of other than the proper denomination or counterfeit coins. Because bulk vending machines may be unattended, stand-alone devices and are usually not connected electrically to a power source, the coin receiving mechanism in a bulk vending machine should reliably distinguish coins of the proper denomination from coins of other than the proper denomination without relying on the provision of an external power source. Conventionally, a coin receiving mechanism uses the dimensions of the coin as a basis for acceptance or rejection.
It is particularly desirable if the wrong coin can be readily expelled without jamming the machine. Accordingly, some bulk vending machines provide a spring-loaded pawl located in the coin receiving mechanism that contacts a part of the coin wheel of the mechanism to stop its clockwise motion unless a coin of proper denomination is inserted in the mechanism.
Although prior pawls operate to distinguish between genuine coins and counterfeit coins when these coins are different sizes, if the counterfeit coin is very close in size to the genuine coin, the pawl may not be able to reliably distinguish between them. This may occur when the counterfeit coin is made out of a hard or stiff material such as cardboard, aluminum, iron, or tile. Accordingly, it would be desirable in a coin receiving mechanism for a bulk vending machine to provide a way for reliably distinguishing between similar sized genuine coins and counterfeit coins.
Further, it would be desirable to provide a means to distinguish between such coins in a coin receiving mechanism for a bulk vending machine that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and maintain.